A look at the universe with Brian Greene

February 17, 2011

This week, two University of Louisiana astronomers announced that they may have stumbled across what might be a giant, never-seen-before planet on the outer reaches of our solar system. They’re calling it Tyche, and they’re hoping to get a good glimpse of it — whatever it turns out to be — in the next few months. After all, it’s a big universe out there, and even with our best telescopes and equations it’s hard for experts to agree on what it is they’re seeing in our own solar system.

Now imagine how much harder it is to figure out what is happening at the edge of the universe.

That’s what Dr. Brian Greene works on every day. Greene is a renowned theoretical physicist, and his new book, “The Hidden Reality,” has landed on The New York Times bestseller list. It explores some of the most literally out there thinking today. Greene spoke with Need to Know producer Win Rosenfeld to discuss multiple universes, dark energy and why astronomers of the future shouldn’t believe their eyes.

Comments

Rsauers

When I was 9 yrs old, we were shown a film about the solar system, and I remembered
about the word universe and infinity. I paniced. The reason I paniced was I didn’t believe
in the universe as we saw it being 5 billion yrs old, as we were told back then. I am 56
now. I was thinking in terms that there are many sub universes as we see, and the universe
total was infinite. If these sub-universies were real, then it happened again and again, to infinity.
If these sub-universies are real and replicate over and over, then we ourselves are replicated
over and over in different and also same forms.
This one sub-universe is not expanding but contracting. It is expanding and we are in a spot within this spiral contraction that makes everything look as if within the red shift of or baloon effect of expansion.
We also decide and not decide our existence. We follow everything within our mist and decide the details for furture events.

Rsauers

I meant we are contracting. We are at of the point of the spiral that makes everything look
as though everything else is moving away.

Rsauers

When I read that Devries thought of sub universies and Hawkings thought of matter being created at the point of horizon within a black hole, I was thinking that was my panic attack when I was 9 years old. All of it, and also Greenes’ concept that with infinity comes the cradel of all that is perceived as absolute revolves in foundation of relativity. Everything exists and exists over and over again.My panic attack at 9 years old was reality. I did not start telling people about that attack and my views about the universe until I was maybe 19, and they thought there was something wrong with my head. I believe that we are spiraling inwards within a sub universe and we cannot tell the difference of a meaningful reasoning balloon effect or contraction. It will take another few million years to measure a difference.
The other thing I have to say is that NASA took credit for discovering arcs of Neptune. The discovery was made by someone in the 1600′s. NASA should those arcs accordingly. They should announce his name and say they made a mistake.

Bsanecki

A superb show – partcularly the Brian Greene interview!

Kstorm

Rsauers, Boy, are you incoherant and self-contradictory.

Chantal001

I love how Brian can explain very difficult awesome concept into small bite size, is books are the same you read and think what??? and then it all comes together and make sense.

Anonymous

THIS GUY MIGHT BE GOOD IN CREATIVE PHYSICS BUT HE’S A NITWIT IN LOGIC ESPECIALLY THE MEANING OF “INFINITE”. IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE IT A NEGATIVELY DEFINED CONCEPT. HE MAKES A BIG MISTAKE IN TRYING TO TRANSLATE A MATHMATICAL CONVENIENCE CALLED “INFINITY” INTO A LITERAL DESCRIPTION OF “REALITY” AND GETS HIMSELF ALL F–KED UP IN HIS OWN PSYCHOLOGY “FEELING LIKE WE DON’T FIT IN”

JMtB03

Do note that this is all theory, not necessarily true. Science is about evidence, not proof; theory, not fact.

Bassman

I don’t Think you realize that he stated himself that it is virtually impossible
to analogize the reality, and that math can only take us so far, but leads us in a certain direction of possibilities. Logic requires things to be finite. He uses the word infinite in his explanation because it is the opposite of Logic, There is not enough information available to utilize use comparative logic. Mathematics is used allot when there is not enough provable information to use the finite nature of logic. This is why we have the field of Theoretical Mathematics. We are beings of curiosity and it is in our nature to utilize every tool in our tool box to try and understand things we can’t prove or disprove. It’s fortunate that we try to comprehend the unknown that’s why we’ve come this far. We now are only on the very edge of these new possibilities to ponder. Only after watching several different videos on this topic do I even a edge of my fingernails grip on this stuff, but I find it truly fascinating. I mean no disrespect to you at but only hope you keep an open mind when it comes to new information, I appreciate that has stepped out of his comfort zone and is trying to explain this stuff in Lay Terms I can slightly grasp.

Need to Know is a production of Creative News Group (CNG) in association with WNET. Marc Rosenwasser is Executive Producer. Need to Know is made possible by Bernard and Irene Schwartz, Mutual of America, Citi Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.